February 25, 2002

11:33 AM

Pay for CNN.com? CNN International President sees subscription fees for online news services likely in the near future. If CNN, MSNBC or any of the major sites start this trend, the Drudge Report may be everyones destination!
posted by Lanternjmk (19 comments total)

or metafilter even.
posted by brian at 11:37 AM on February 25, 2002

From the linked article:

Cramer said CNN has no plans to begin charging subscriptions for access to its Web site.

Don't panic yet.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:38 AM on February 25, 2002

Another thread on this general question (though not of course about CNN in particular) is here.
posted by mattpfeff at 11:44 AM on February 25, 2002

Who would Drudge link to, in that case? (not to mention MetaFilter or newslogs)
posted by cell divide at 11:45 AM on February 25, 2002

news.bbc.co.uk - all pile on!
posted by kerplunk at 11:48 AM on February 25, 2002

Who would Drudge link to, in that case? (not to mention MetaFilter or newslogs)

Probably one of the many sites that publishes from the AP newswire. I doubt all of them would go to a subscription model, overnight or over a long period of time. Cnn.com is just a drop in the bucket.
posted by insomnyuk at 11:56 AM on February 25, 2002

It reminds me of the recent switchover of many of the free greeting card sites. Virtually all the sites that had gained a name for themselves go to subscription service within days of each other. Of course, in their wake several new free sites have arisen leading me to suspect that in the end, pay sites will lose customers
posted by Lanternjmk at 12:15 PM on February 25, 2002

the news companies really are caught in a bind, since they lose money like crazy giving away free content and yet no one wants to start charging (since that really only works for the Wall Street Journal) because websters'll just dump them for the free site that's a couple clicks away. but they can't just keep bleeding red ink from these divisions forever.
posted by zoopraxiscope at 12:22 PM on February 25, 2002

"My personal point of view is that we need to position ourselves in an integrated content way to burst out of the starting blocks at the appropriate time..."

"We need to hunker down and weather the storm but don't abandon the territory," he added.

Is he a runner? A sailor? A soldier? The amount of metaphor-churn suggests he hasn't really worked out the business model.
posted by coelecanth at 12:22 PM on February 25, 2002

cnn is medicore left-wing swill. Let them charge and become irrelevant.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:30 PM on February 25, 2002

The Wall Street Journal's web operations lose money, too.
posted by NortonDC at 1:25 PM on February 25, 2002

news from israel

actually an excellent news source often much faster to the story than cnn - oh, and check those editorials...... some real questions about israels current leadership and policies.
posted by specialk420 at 1:30 PM on February 25, 2002

Or perhaps groups such as MetaFilter will get a single membership and share the username and password ;) I see that occasionally here for sites that require registration (NY Times, etc).

Nice flame bait, Paris ;)
posted by terrapin at 1:33 PM on February 25, 2002

insomnyuk -

Cnn.com is just a drop in the bucket.

Maybe, but they're a pretty big drop. Don't you think that this will at least contribute to the likelihood of subscriptions becoming more viable? Personally, I see subscriptions as the future model. Maybe not next year, but within five.
posted by Sinner at 1:33 PM on February 25, 2002

What bait? I think CNN is even more to the left than Fox is to the right. MSNBC to about down the middle, which is not to say it provides more comprehensive coverage.
posted by ParisParamus at 1:42 PM on February 25, 2002

Ok, why is there a September 11th 2001 reference in there! Read it!

It has no reason to bring it up, yet it causually tosses it out there!

I'm sure they could have edited it out of that man's quote.
posted by Keen at 2:28 PM on February 25, 2002

is it just me or is 2002 the switch-to-paying-model year? Salon.com; Topfive.com; Media Unspun and now *maybe* CNN. I can't see it succeed without a free-access website and a members-only section.

B.
posted by Baud at 2:54 PM on February 25, 2002

Oh yeah, we all know how well the subscription model works. Just ask Salon.com. Come on, everybody who has a Salon subscription raise your hand!

My point is that unless there is a compelling reason and benefit to purchasing this content, people won't spend the money. People are willing to pay sites like RealMoney.com that actually make them/cause them to lose less money. People are not willing to pay for repackaged Reuters/AP stories.
posted by ilsa at 4:04 PM on February 25, 2002

A good place to keep track of what's no longer free is at The End of Free website.
posted by munger at 10:37 PM on February 25, 2002